Signs Of Long Term Heat Damage?

[poneyboy]

93 ES300, 105k

Anyone know what signs to look for with regard to heat damage? I have a co-worker who had a GMC truck that overheated once. It didn't blow a head gasket, but a year later it died from the heat damage. He said it started sounding more and more like a diesel until it guit running. Any ideas here?

[SpeedRacer959]

If by heat damage you're talking about the engine overheating, then you need to look for smoke when you rev the car up. Look for smoke also when the car is driving under a load, like up a hill or something. Lexus shouldn't ever smoke so if you see it, then it could need rings or worse.

Other than that, listen to it. You shouldn't hear any weird ticking or pinging when it's running, those could be signs that the valves are out of sync, sticking, or are not closing all the way whe it's running.

Also, it might be worth spending the money to have an authorized mechanic look at it. Believe me, if a Lexus isn't taken care of, it can be VERY costly to bring it back to life..

good luck,

Jimi

[poneyboy]

Thanks for the response.

So in this case, I'm talking about damage from overheating, especially when you don't get a blown head gasket. It seems that a serious overheat can cause problems down the road. What problems are they? How do I know if I have them?

I've never heard of valves being out of sync...you must mean clearances. But this doesn't constitute heat damage I wouldn't think. Mostly I'm thinking of possible things such as cylinder damage and such. Perhaps rings fall into that category.

For the record - when it comes to valve clearances and other scheduled maintenance items, it seems that Lexus dealerships are not in the habit of doing any of these important measures. I don't trust them.

[bartkat]

I thought your question was answered rather well.